Dream a Little Dream of Me
by nickelback2001
Summary: Elena's life changes when she starts having dreams of a certain blue-eyed man, or are they more like premonitions of their future...
1. Chapter 1

_Sheets of rain clouded her vision as Elena ran down the uneven cobblestone street. What she was running from, she couldn't be sure-but she knew she was running out of time. Elena turned the corner and hid in an empty alleyway to catch her breath. The wet air was crisp, and her heavy breaths came out like puffs of smoke. She heard footsteps approaching, and she took off again. Her aching legs carried her for another few blocks until Elena felt her body collide with another. Her screams were cut off by a large hand, and her eyes locked with piercing blue ones. _

Elena abruptly woke up in a cold sweat, causing her sleeping boyfriend, Stefan, to roll over and groan. Her hand fumbled around her nightstand in search of her phone. She managed to find it and brought it to her face to check the time. _Ugh, she woke up a minute before her 7 a.m. alarm._

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, or lack thereof, Elena got out of bed and stretched out her aching muscles. Strangely enough, it really did feel like she ran five miles like in her nightmare. She stepped into her warm shower and sighed as the hot water ran down her skin.

Her thoughts shifted to her nightmare and _those eyes._ Elena had dreamt about those eyes nearly every night these past two weeks, and it was beginning to drive her insane. _What did her dreams mean? Who were those blue eyes attached to? She had never seen eyes so blue…_

Elena shook the thoughts out of her mind and hurriedly got ready for work. She worked at a little bookshop that had sat at the same corner of her tiny hometown for what felt like a million years at this point. Elena's mother was friends with the shop owner, Mrs. Jones, and had taken Elena there every week since she was born. Ever since her mom had passed, it felt like the memories of the tiny bookshop were all she had left of her.

Elena walked through the shop's front door and heard the bell jingle behind her. She was greeted by her friend, Bonnie, who was on the opening shift with her today.

"God, you look tired. What did you do, stay up all night?" Bonnie laughed.

"Ugh, is it that bad?" Elena asked as she set down her bag.

"No, it's not….that bad."

"You're a horrible liar, Bonnie. Anyway, it was the same dream as usual." She said.

"The one with the sexy eyes? Huh...strange…" Bonnie trailed off.

"It's more than that, Bonnie." She laughed. "It's like I'm running away from something…"

"You know, my Gran is into all of that hocus pocus kind of stuff. You should have her give you a reading." Her friend suggested.

"I will just to put an end to all of this, but you know that I don't believe in that sort of stuff."

Bonnie rolled her eyes at her. "You just need to have some_ trust._ Anyway, we have work we need to do."

When it came to the end of their shifts, the two of them headed to her Gran's house so that Elena could get her reading. Sheila Bennett's home was lit by hundreds of tiny candles which seemed dangerous for its wooden walls. Crystals and other tiny trinkets cluttered shelves and tables along with worn books that looked at least two hundred years old. Bonnie led her to a back room where her Gran sat in a purple velvet armchair. Her eyes were closed, intently focused on something.

"Gran?" Bonnie asked.

Sheila Bennett's eyes snapped open, but they stayed focused on the space next to Bonnie like there was someone standing there. She then turned to Elena and motioned for her to come sit at the chair beside her.

"So child, there's been a recurring dream that's been troubling you?"

"Yes, ma'am. I'm always running, and then I run into a man with blue eyes." Elena told the older woman.

"Well...it could be a number of things...let's consult the cards first."

She brought out a deck of beautifully painted tarot cards that she shuffled through so fast that Elena could barely make out her fingers moving. Once again, Sheila's eyes were closed, and she was mumbling something under her breath.

Two cards flew out of the deck and scattered onto the old Persian rug. Bonnie picked them up for her Gran, and her and Elena looked at the old woman for an explanation.

"Let's see," Sheila started, "first we have "the lovers" card which often represents a soulmate connection.

She held up the card with the two naked figures on it for Bonnie and Elena to see.

She stared at the second card for a second, looking stumped. She showed it to the girls, and Elena gasped it surprise. It was the "death" card which depicted a skeletal knight on a horse.

"Don't worry, honey. This card rarely signifies an actual death...usually it just means something is going to come to an end." Sheila reassured her.

"What do those cards mean together?" Elena asked.

"Well, it could mean the end of a romantic relationship." She answered.

"You and Stefan are going to break up? But you guys are stronger than ever…" Bonnie started.

"No one is going to break up. I'm sorry, I have to go...but thanks Mrs. Bennett."

Elena walked out of the house a little shell-shocked. _Could the cards mean that she and Stefan were going to end things soon? They seemed happier than ever…_

She drove back to their shared apartment and locked the front door behind her. Elena had thought about it the entire way back and had decided that the cards were a load of crap. She was a rational person and a couple of cards were not going to determine her relationship. She loved Stefan, and that feeling was not going to go away anytime soon.

Eventually, Stefan came home from work, and they shared Chinese takeout that he had picked up. They caught up on some shows, and Elena ended up drifting off on the couch. For the first time, the dream had picked up where it had left off.

_The man with the blue eyes slowly removed his hand from her mouth, making sure that she wasn't going to scream again. He looked around, making sure they were alone._

"_Elena, you have to get out of here. They're coming." He said._

_She wanted to ask who was coming, but she knew that they didn't have enough time. Instead, she nodded in understanding and looked at him for further instructions._

"_You go ahead, I'll stay here and distract them." The man told her._

"_No, Damon. I can't leave you here by yourself." She felt herself insisting._

_Damon looked like he wanted to tear his dark, wet hair out at her statement. "Elena, we've been over this…"_

"_I know, I know. It's just that...Damon I-"_

"_I know." He said, cradling her cheekbone as he looked into her eyes._

_He wiped away a tear that trailed down her cheek, and Elena crushed her lips hard against his. Damon sighed into the kiss before pulling away. His eyes then suddenly darted to something out of the corner of his eye._

"_Elena, GO!"_

Elena woke up with a start, with one thing on her mind: _Damon._

* * *

**Hey guys, I'm finally out of a three month case of writer's block! Just let me know if you would like me to finish "The 25 Days Of Christmas" or not since it's the middle of ****February; I would be happy to do so if that's something that you guys wanted. Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

"So he has a name now?" Bonnie asked incredulously.

Elena and Bonnie were sitting on the back counter, waiting for customers to come into the currently dead book store.

"Yeah...I know how strange this sounds...but I knew his name even though I didn't know his name. If that makes sense." Elena told her.

Bonnie thought for a second. "It's too bad you never found out what his last name was."

Elena looked confused, "Why would his last name matter?"

"Well, you could've looked him up and found him. I mean, there can't be that many Damons in the world." She explained.

"Bonnie, you know Damon isn't a real person, right?"

Her friend raised her hands in surrender. "I mean, you never know…"

Bonnie was cut off by the sound of the bell on the front door. She left Elena alone with her thoughts as she attended to the older customer.

_There was no way that Damon was an actual person, right? They were just dreams...meaningless dreams._

The rest of her shift went by agonizingly slow as Elena's thoughts swirled around like a tornado in her mind. _What did the dreams mean? Who is Damon?_

When she finally got home from work, Stefan could tell she was distracted. He asked her what was wrong, but Elena had lied to him and said that she was having a migraine. She felt bad about lying to him, but what could she do? It's not like she could tell her boyfriend that she was having dreams about kissing a different man….

As she laid down on her bed, Elena felt her mental exhaustion wear her down. Her eyelids became heavier and heavier, and she was dragged back into her dream.

_Damon's shout rang in Elena's ears as her feet carried her down the empty streets. Tears and rain blinded her as she ran, but she didn't let it deter her-she had to get out of there, for herself and Damon. _

_The safe house had to be around here somewhere, Elena thought as she looked around at her surroundings. _

_She recognized a tiny general store that she had stopped in earlier that week. The safe house was only three or four blocks away._

_Elena could hear voices in the not so far off distance and broke off into a sprint. Adrenaline coursed through her veins as she ran, the ache in her limbs temporarily fading._

_She ducked through an alley to the back door of the bar and rapped on the door in a panic. The door opened, revealing an annoyed looking waitress. _

"_What do you want?" She rudely asked._

"_Please let me in, I'm Elena Gilbert. Bree will know me. Please." Elena cried._

_The waitress held the door open for her, and Elena rushed inside the crowded bar. She made a beeline for the back to the storage area. She pushed aside a rug, revealing a trap door. Elena lifted the latch and climbed down the ladder to the hidden basement. The basement was dim with candles providing the only bit of light. Her last bit of adrenaline left her body, leaving Elena on the verge of passing out from sheer exhaustion. She managed to make it to an antique sofa in one of the corners of the room, and she laid down, her last thought being of Damon._

* * *

Elena woke up the next morning with newfound determination-_she was going to figure out her dreams no matter what it took. _She had the day off from work, and Stefan was still soundly asleep in their shared bed.

She sighed as she stared at his sleeping face. As much as Elena felt bad for lying to him, or more like withholding the truth of her situation, she couldn't ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach every time she dreamt of Damon. So, as weird as it was going to be, Elena was going to go visit Bonnie's grandmother by herself. She was convinced from her last visit that the older woman was more than a palm reader.

Elena pulled up to the old house and knocked on the door-_no answer. _She tried the handle, finding it to be unlocked. The door creaked open, and Elena popped her head in.

"Mrs. Bennett?" She called.

There was no response.

Elena walked past the candles, crystals, and worn books like she had done the prior day. She headed to the back room where Sheila had been and found it to be cracked open. Elena pushed the door slightly more open and peered inside. Sure enough, Sheila was sitting in the same purple velvet armchair, but she seemed to be in a trance. Her eyes were wide open, but it was like she couldn't see Elena standing there.

Elena walked closer to the older woman to make sure she was okay. The wooden floor creaked underneath her sneakers, and Sheila's head twisted so that she was staring straight into Elena's eyes.

In a voice that was not hers, she spoke to Elena: "_You are destined to love the one who is destined for death."_

"Mrs. Bennett?" Elena asked, shell-shocked.

The older woman snapped out of her trance and stared at Elena in surprise. "Oh honey, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I'm really sorry for intruding. I'll see myself out…" Elena started to turn to the door.

"Wait." Sheila Bennett grabbed Elena's arm, holding her in place. "There's something you need to hear, child. You possess the gift."

"The gift?" She asked.

"You're a seer, Elena. You have the gift to see into the future." The older woman told her.

"That's not possible…" Elena started.

"The spirits told me. How else are you able to explain all of your dreams of the man with the blue eyes?"

"You mean the dreams of Damon." Elena said quietly.

"Damon? Your premonitions seem to be getting stronger. With a little practice, you might be able to develop your gift so that you can tap into your sight when you're awake." Sheila told her.

"Could you teach me?" She asked.

The older woman nodded and gestured for Elena to sit in the adjoining armchair.

"Close your eyes and open your mind. Let the spirits guide you." Mrs. Bennett said.

Elena followed her instructions. Nothing.

She opened her eyes. "It isn't working."

Sheila held her hand in support. "That's because you gotta put some _emotion _into it."

Elena tried again, this time picturing Damon's face in her mind. She thought about the panic in his smooth voice, his icy blue eyes piercing hers, his soft lips against hers…

_Damon was lying on the ground. Elena touched his skin-all traces of warmth were gone. She sobbed into his chest, drowning his shirt in salty tears. There was no heartbeat to be heard._

_Her body was being shaken…_

"Elena, dear…"

She snapped out of her trance and completely lost it. Sheila embraced her quivering body and rubbed circles around her back in comfort.

She calmed down and stared into the woman's eyes. "_He was dead."_

"Well, the future can always change…" Mrs. Bennett started.

The tarot cards, Sheila's prophecy, and her vision came together in Elena's head. She was destined to love the one who was destined for death. _Damon was going to die. _

"Thank you so much for helping me, Mrs. Bennett." Elena said as she walked out of the house.

"Wait, Elena!" Sheila called.

But Elena didn't stop. Instead, she got into her car and started to drive. _She was going to go find Damon._


	3. Chapter 3

Okay, it had been a little bit irresponsible for Elena to drive off in search of Damon without telling anyone. So, she told Stefan that she was visiting her dad in California for a week, and she took a week of vacation off from work. _Surely, a week would be enough time, right? _It was the only amount of time she had before reality would set in, and so would her responsibilities.

Now there was only one thing out of place: _how the hell was she going to find Damon?_

Elena knew virtually nothing about her new found supernatural capabilities, but her gut instinct told her that spirits would guide her to an answer.

She pulled off of the highway to a rest stop and parked her car. Remembering the instructions that Sheila had given her before, Elena closed her eyes and opened her mind. She let her emotions wash over her, filling her heart with the love she experienced in her dreams.

_Damon was driving a light blue Camaro on the highway, the wind tousling his raven hair as he drove. He turned on his left blinker as he drove off an exit. The dark green sign read "Richmond" above him._

Elena opened her eyes. He was in Richmond, or at least on his way to Richmond. It was only a two hour drive from her hometown of Mystic Falls. She merged onto the highway and continued driving.

Two hours later, Elena approached the same green sign that she had seen in her vision. She took the exit and headed into downtown Richmond.

The downtown area was lively with rows of restaurants, statues, and antebellum mansions. She decided to take a break, or rather the growl in her stomach decided it was necessary.

Elena stopped into a sandwich shop and waited in line at the counter. She saw a flash of raven hair walking away from the counter, food in hand. _Could it be him?_

He glanced over into her direction, and she was met with hazel eyes instead of piercing blue. Disappointed, Elena ordered her sandwich and left the shop.

* * *

Damon decided to head to Richmond for a bit. As a vampire, it was generally better to feed in larger cities where deaths and disappearances went under the radar. He always had a soft spot for Richmond since it was where he was stationed when he was in the army. A hundred and fifty years ago.

Usually, Damon didn't actually kill people when he fed (he had perfected the art of snatch, eat, an erase), but he needed to blow off some steam. He had just ended things again with his on and off ex, Katherine, who was the devil. Literally.

Katherine was the ruler of hell, and she had a whole little army of demons that annoyed the literal hell out of Damon. He liked her fiery nature, but she was vindictive, controlling, and pretty much just a bitch.

He headed into the downtown area to look for a bite to eat, or rather someone to sink his fangs into. He decided to park his Camaro and people watch for a bit.

There was a perky blonde talking on her phone, but she would be too easy to catch. Damon wanted a challenge.

He watched as a slender brunette walked out of a sandwich shop. She was much more his type, and sort of reminded him of Katherine. Perfect.

Damon got out of his car and approached the girl.

"Hey…" he started.

Damon was taken aback when she looked up at him. Her eyes entranced him-they were chocolate brown and doe like-it felt like she was the one using compulsion on him. She was beautiful, and there was an innocence in her features-there was an innate urge for Damon to step in and protect her-from what, he didn't know.

What happened next surprised him even more.

"Damon?" she asked.

"Yeah...how do you…" He was unable to form words.

"I'm Elena...and I've been having visions of you for weeks. It's kind of hard to explain." She said.

Having been a part of the supernatural world for over a century had taught Damon not to be surprised about anything, but this was a new one. Maybe she was a witch…

"Well, Elena...I got all the time in the world for you to tell me about it."

Damon took her to a coffee shop, and she told him all about her dreams of the two of them running away from something. Elena told him about some woman named Sheila Bennett telling her that she was a seer, and how she could now see visions of him. It still seemed like she was holding something back from him though.

"So, let me get this straight. The two of us are in impending danger from something you don't know." He said.

"Yep, that pretty much sums it up." Elena said. "I'm surprised though-you seem rather cool-headed about all of this. I can see the future, and you don't seem to be fazed."

"Well, let's just say stranger things happen everyday."

She gave him a side eye. Maybe, she wasn't as innocent as he had originally thought. There were some fire behind those doe eyes of hers.

"Could you be anymore ambiguous?" She asked sarcastically.

He gave in. "I've been a vampire for the past century and a half."

Damon waited for her to get up and run away in horror. Elena didn't.

"And?" She asked.

"And I don't seem to be the only cool-headed one here." He laughed.

"I don't know...I guess from everything I've learned the past few days, I don't think anything about this world could surprise me anymore." She told him.

While she was talking, Damon noticed something or rather someone out of the corner of his eye. Sitting in the cafe was one of Katherine's lackeys who seemed to be watching them. The look the demon was giving him made him feel uneasy.

"Well, it's good that you're good with weird because we need to get out of here." He whispered.

Elena looked confused, but she got up and followed him out of the cafe without protesting. He led her to a nearby hotel and checked the two of them in. When they made it into their room, she instantly looked at him for answers.

"There was a guy in there whose boss...doesn't really like me at the moment." Damon told her.

"Who's his boss? Why don't they like you?" She asked.

"His boss is Katherine. My ex."

* * *

Katherine sat on her throne, annoyed as she checked her nails. Her fling, Damon, had just dumped her which was a new thing for her. _She was the one to reject men, not the other way around._ It didn't sit well with her.

One of her attendants came into the room with a scared look on his face.

"Your majesty, there's been…"

"Well, spit it out." Katherine said, exasperated.

"There's been a Damon sighting in Richmond. He was at a cafe with a pretty girl."

"Huh, interesting." She started. "You may go."

The attendant scurried out of the room as the gears turned around in Katherine's head. Two could play at this game.

* * *

**Thanks for all of the positive reviews! I'm glad you guys like this one!**


	4. Chapter 4

"So, you're telling me that Katherine, your ex, is the actual devil?!" Elena whisper yelled.

Damon scratched the back of his head. "Well, if you count the ruler of hell as the devil...then yes."

Elena paced around their tiny hotel room in disbelief. She murmured underneath her breath _the devil...the actual devil…_

Damon got up from sitting on the bed and stopped Elena in her tracks, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"Hey...it's going to be okay. We'll get out of Richmond soon, and I-I will keep you safe, Elena." He tried to comfort her.

She looked up at him with tears creeping up in her big, brown eyes. She bit her lip like she wanted to tell him something.

Elena sighed. "Well, it's not me that I'm worried about. There was something that I didn't tell you earlier…"

"What is it?" He asked.

"I had a vision...a vision of you dying. That's why I came here to find you." Elena told him.

_Huh, well that changed things, he thought. _

"Did you...happen to see how I died? Maybe we can avoid it." Damon asked her.

"No, I didn't. But, I'm going to keep on trying." She said, wiping away the tears that stained her rosy cheeks.

Elena sat down on the bed, and closed her eyes. Her expression was one of complete focus.

As she did that, Damon went over to the mini fridge and took a swig of bourbon. _He was going to die. As in dead. Dead as a doornail._

Ever since Damon had become a vampire, he didn't think much about death. Technically speaking, he had died 150 years ago, but he had been reborn into an immortal being. Now, being told that he was going to die was a little strange for him.

He glanced over at Elena and watched her eyes snap open. Her cheeks were pink, almost as if she was embarrassed about something.

"What did you see?" Damon asked her.

"Uh, I didn't see how you died...it was just some other stuff." She said, not meeting his gaze.

He quirked an eyebrow at her, and tried to hide his grin. "Like what other stuff?"

Elena fidgeted with her hair. "Just some intimate stuff."

"Was I good?" He smirked at her.

Her blush deepened as she tried to compose herself. "I'm not going to answer that. Anyways, I'm tired, so I'm going to go to bed."

She quickly ran to the bathroom and shut the door to get a hold of herself.

When she returned, Elena came back to Damon laying on the bed with his shirt off. He patted the space beside him and smirked at her. She rolled her eyes at him and got underneath the covers, facing away from him.

He heard her breathing become even as she dozed off. Damon faced the other way and began to drift off himself when he heard her murmur "_Damon." _He sighed as he closed his eyes. It would be way too easy for him to fall in love with Elena Gilbert.

* * *

Elena sighed in contentment as she burrowed closer to the warmth. Her consciousness was slowly waking up, and for the first time in weeks, she had peaceful dreams.

She felt the warmth shift, and she snapped her eyes open. Elena had used Damon's bare chest for a pillow for God knows how long.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty."

Elena could hear the smirk in his voice. She blushed as she untangled her body from his. Not that she would admit it, but she missed the warmth of his skin on hers.

"So, what's on the agenda for today?" Elena asked as nonchalantly as possible.

"Well Miss Psychic, I was hoping that you would come up with an idea in that beautiful mind of yours." He said.

"Umm...I don't know. How do we ditch the demons that are watching you?" She asked.

"That's a good question. I don't know about you, but I could use a drink." He smiled devilishly.

* * *

He took her to a bar owned by an old friend of his, Bree. She was a witch, and Damon hoped that she would have some insight on their situation. Plus, he really could use a drink-of blood and bourbon.

"Huh, I don't know what to tell you. But, as long as you're in my bar, the two of you are safe. I don't let _that kind_ in." Bree told them.

"Thanks, Bree. Another round, please." Damon said.

"On the house." She said, as she poured three shots of tequila.

The three of them drank up, and Damon savored the burn as it went down his throat. He then sneaked away, making sure that Elena was occupied with chatting to Bree.

He compelled a blonde to follow him outside to an empty alleyway and to stay silent. He gently tucked her hair behind her ear, exposing her neck to him. Damon felt his fangs descend, and then he skillfully drank, letting her blood sooth his aching veins.

He imagined what it would be like to drink from Elena-her blood would probably smooth and rich like dark chocolate, but with notes of sweetness-completely intoxicating. Damon imagined her writhing underneath him, begging him to bite her...

* * *

It hadn't completely sunk in that Damon was a vampire before this moment. Sure, he had told her, but it hadn't really occurred to her that he actually needed human blood to survive.

Now, seeing him like this-softly biting into the girl's neck-it was strangely sensual to Elena. She couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy-a twisted part of her wished that she was the one that Damon was feeding from.

"Damon?" She asked.

As soon as he noticed her presence, the dark veins underneath his eyes dissipated. He looked at her with a sheepish expression.

"Elena…" He started.

She cut him off. "Hey, it's okay. You need to feed too, right? Let's just get out of here."

Damon told the blonde to go to the bathroom to clean herself up, and they started walking back to their hotel.

"I want to hear more about being a vampire." Elena told him.

"What do you want to know?" He asked.

They walked so close to each other that their hands accidentally brushed, causing electricity to shoot through her veins.

"Well...when were you turned?" She asked.

"It was back when I was in the army. A nurse, who I later found out was a vampire, fed me some of her blood so that I would heal. I was killed the very next day in battle." He told her.

"When were you in the army?"

"The Civil War." Damon said.

"Oh."

Elena then stopped in her tracks. A vision overtook her mind.

_A man was behind them. His eyes glowed red with flames as his claws reached into Damon's back and…_

Elena forced her mind to focus, and she stopped the vision. She looked over at Damon next to her, and she cried out.

Damon laid on the ground, completely lifeless. The man from her vision held his heart in his hand.

Elena immediately rushed to Damon's side, searching for any trace of life even though she knew it was hopeless. She cried into his cold chest as the man walked around her, leaving her with his body.

_She was completely alone._

* * *

**Thanks for the reviews!**


	5. Chapter 5

Elena managed to bring Damon's body to a hidden alleyway to get away from prying eyes. She sat next to him, her eyes staring blankly ahead. _She had come to Richmond to save him, and she had failed him._

Elena took his hand in hers and squeezed it, looking for any bit of comfort she could find. With her other hand, she grazed his cheekbone with her fingertips, marveling over his perfection. Even in death, Damon was still perfect.

She knew that it was strange for her to be so attached to a man she had known for two days, but Elena couldn't help but feel like there was a connection there-obviously the universe had wanted her to find him from all of her dreams. _But now he was gone._

She closed her eyes and opened her mind, Damon's hand still intertwined with hers.

"_Elena, you have to get out of here." Damon told her._

"_I'm not leaving without you!" She cried._

_His hands cupped the sides of her face, and he looked deeply into her eyes. _

"_Elena, you don't belong here. You're good, and I'm a vampire…"_

_She cut him off. "I don't believe that for a second, Damon. The only way that you can make me leave Hell is if you come with me."_

"_Elena…" He started._

_She stepped forward, and crushed her lips against his. He deepened the kiss, and the two of them shared their own little piece of heaven in the depths of Hell._

_He pulled away and smiled. "Okay, you win."_

The vision ended, and Elena sat there confused. _How the hell was she supposed to get to Hell?_

* * *

Damon woke up on the hard ground. The air was warm, almost unbearably so. He sat up and looked around at his surroundings.

He was in a barren field of dead wildflowers and weeds. Bodies of men surrounded him, in both blue and gray uniforms. Damon looked down and saw that he himself was wearing a gray wool uniform. It was like he had been transported back into the war.

The men laid there bleeding out, reaching out to him-begging for help. Their nails were more claw-like as they grabbed at him. Damon leapt back, trying to get away from their desperate cries.

_This couldn't be real-the war was a century and a half ago. What was the last thing he remembered?_

_Elena. He was walking with Elena. Her big doe eyes were shocked by his actual age. Then...nothing._

_Where was Elena? He had to protect her from this…_

The bodies disappeared, leaving Damon alone in the field. Suddenly, there was a female voice behind him.

"I'm impressed." The woman said.

He turned around to see the woman. She was extremely beautiful, her chestnut hair falling in ringlets down her back. Her small waist was emphasized by her olive green period dress, and she carried a lacy parasol in her gloved hands.

"Katherine." Damon sighed.

She smirked at him. "In the flesh. But, I am rather impressed. I've never seen someone escape their own hellscape so quickly. Tell me, Damon...what did you think of-that plain girl you've been hanging out with?"

"Go to Hell." He snarled.

"God, you're so melodramatic. I don't care about that little girl-it's you that I want." Katherine said, rolling her eyes at him.

"What do you want, Katherine?" He asked.

"Well, let's see," She started, pretending to count with her fingers. "First, I wanted to get back at my ex for dumping me. Then, I decided that the best course of action was bringing him down here so that he could be my little play thing for all of eternity. And now you're here."

"Couldn't you have just gotten a hobby? Knitting, maybe?" Damon smirked.

Suddenly, Katherine was right in front of him. He could see the fiery glint in her almost black irises.

"Well, Damon. You'll see that I don't take too kindly to rejection." She sneered.

Her devilish facade then disappeared. She clapped her hands together in excitement.

"There's so much that I have planned for the two of us, Damon. Come." She pulled him up from the ground by his throat.

* * *

As hard as it was for Elena to leave Damon, she knew that she needed to. It was the only way she was going to be able to get him back. She made her way back to Bree's bar in search of the witch.

As soon as Elena walked into the bar, the witch took notice of the missing vampire.

"Where's Damon? I thought you two were sort of a package deal these days…" Bree asked her.

"He...he...got killed." Elena choked out. "I need your help."

Elena explained her vision of her going to Hell to rescue him to the witch, and she looked back at her in surprise.

"You wanna know how to get to Hell?" Bree asked her. "I always thought Damon was crazy, but you…"

"Please, Bree. Do you know how to get there?" Elena pleaded.

The witch looked at Elena gravely. "It isn't easy. But...you might be able to send yourself there with your own gift. There's just no guarantee that you'll get out."

"How do I send myself there?" She asked.

"If you focus your mind right, you should be able to exist on that plane. You just need to make sure your mind is strong enough that it doesn't shatter in the process." Bree told her.

"Okay, I can do it." Elena said, determined.

Bree took her down a trap door to a secret basement in the bar. She recognized the room from one of her visions. It was filled with candles and crystals, and the scent of burning sage hung in the air.

"Your physical self will be safe down here while your mind is on the other plane. Be safe, honey." Bree told her.

Bree left her alone in the basement. She sat on an old sofa and tried to calm her nerves. What she was about to do was extremely dangerous, but she thought about Damon relying on her…._she could do this._

Elena closed her eyes and focused her mind so hard on being on the other side that she felt her head start to pound. _This must be what Bree was warning her about-her mind shattering from the pressure._

She pictured Damon's face in her mind-_there was no other option, she had to do this._

It felt like someone was dragging her soul out of Elena's body. She succumbed to the feeling, putting all of her energy into leaving her own body. Suddenly, there was a blinding light that filled the room, inching closer to her. Elena felt the urge to walk through it.

She walked through the light and found herself at the bookshop she worked at. Everything looked normal-the shelves were filled with books, Mrs. Jones' family photos were hanging on the back wall, and her bag was sitting on the back counter. But there was something off-the air was much too hot, it felt like it was going to suffocate Elena.

A woman came around from the corner of a bookshelf. She had long, brown hair and bright blue eyes-it was her mother.

"Mom?" Elena asked in shock.

Her mother didn't say anything, but she smiled as she walked towards Elena. Just as she thought her mom was going to embrace her, her mom pushed her into the wall by her throat, cutting off her airway with her sharp nails. Her mom's eyes turned bright red and her teeth transformed into fangs. She hissed at Elena, and she prepared for the impact of the blow.

_She thought about her mother, her real mother, and how she used to sing to Elena when she was upset. She pictured her mother's voice in her mind…_

Elena opened her eyes. The blow never came. The demonic version of her mom was gone.

"You must be Elena," said a bored voice behind her.

Elena turned around, and standing there was who she presumed to be devil herself-_Katherine._


	6. Chapter 6

Damon was in hell. Literally and figuratively.

Katherine was having the time of her life coming up with new ways to torture him every hour. Or it seemed like every hour-it was hard to tell how much time had passed.

Currently, he was in a hellscape where he was being forced to rip out his own heart over and over again because "he ripped out her heart" apparently. _Personally, Damon didn't think that Katherine ever had a heart to begin with, but wasn't going to tell her that._

Damon felt the urge to claw his hands into his chest yet again. As his nails began to break through his skin, he saw Elena appear before him.

"Damon! Oh God…" She said in horror of what he was doing.

"Elena…" He slurred, his mind losing consciousness from the pain.

"Here, let me help you…" She cried.

Her hand was on top of his, and for a moment, Damon felt peace. But then her hand reached into his chest, and Elena pulled out his heart.

When Damon woke up, he was face to face with a smirking Katherine.

"You really fell for that one, Damon? How did it feel when your beloved Elena ripped out your heart?"

Damon grabbed Katherine by her throat, cutting off her airway.

"I'm going to kill you…" He growled.

Her skin suddenly became extremely hot to the touch, and Damon instinctively let her go.

"Maybe you will, maybe you won't." Katherine shrugged.

She stepped around him and disappeared, leaving Damon alone.

* * *

"_You must be Elena," said a bored voice behind her._

_Elena turned around, and there was who she presumed to be the devil herself-Katherine._

Katherine eyed Elena up and down suspiciously. "You know, I don't really know what Damon sees in you."

"Where is he?" Elena seethed through her clenched teeth.

"Oh, Damon and I have been having _all kinds of fun_ since he arrived. I can give him a message if you want." Katherine smirked.

Elena ignored the she-devil's innuendos. "Let me see him."

"Okay...if you really want to." Katherine said.

She snapped her perfectly manicured fingers, and a battered Damon appeared out of thin air. He hunched over and began violently coughing up blood.

"Oh God…" Elena gasped.

Damon finally noticed her, and dark veins materialized underneath his nearly black eyes.

"Katherine, stop your games…" He snarled.

Trying to seem unafraid, Elena inched closer to Damon until she was right in front of him. She grazed his cheek with her fingertips, and the veins slowly dissipated.

"Damon, it's really me." She whispered.

"Elena…" He murmured in relief.

Katherine then spoiled their reunion. "Damon, can't you feel the ache in your veins? The fire burning in your throat from thirst?"

Damon immediately cupped his throat-Katherine's words almost putting a spell on him. The dark veins swam underneath his eyes, and it took Elena a second too late to realize what was happening.

His fangs descended, and he went for her throat.

Elena's mind started to become hazier and hazier as Damon drank more of her blood. _This was certainly not what Elena had imagined when she fantasized Damon biting her._

_She needed to stop him before he killed her._

Her arms were pinned to her sides by his strong hands. Elena tried twisting her hands around to smack him, but it was no use-Damon was much too strong, and she was becoming weaker by the second.

"Damon…" She croaked, "...it's me. You're going to kill me."

Elena's eyelids grew heavy, and the world turned black.

* * *

Damon felt the monster inside him recede at Elena's words. When he came back to his senses, he realized that she was limp in his arms. _Did he kill her?_

Damon immediately tore into his own wrist and pressed it to Elena's lips. Her eyes didn't open.

He searched for a pulse and found one, but it was faint.

"Way to go, Damon. You killed your little girlfriend." Katherine laughed.

"Shut up, Katherine. This is your fault." He growled.

"I just reminded you how thirsty you were. I never told you to _bite_ her." She said, innocently.

Katherine then disappeared, and Damon continued to try to wake up Elena. _Why wasn't his blood working? Maybe it didn't work in Hell…_

He ran his fingers across Elena's cheekbone, her skin feeling like satin under his strong hands. Seeing her like this-pale, motionless, and on the verge of death-made Damon truly hate himself. _He was a monster, and he deserved to suffer here for all of eternity._

Elena's eyes began to flutter open, and she sighed into his soft touch.

"Damon," She smiled, "You saved me."

"Yeah, from myself." He grumbled underneath his breath.

"Hey...don't beat yourself up. It was _Katherine, _not you." She murmured.

He sighed and shook his head in agreement as he helped her stand up. They surveyed their current surroundings-a rocky, barren landscape-although there was no way for them to be sure that it wasn't an image that Katherine had put in their minds. The two of them began walking.

"So, how did you get here?" Damon asked her.

"I sort of sent myself here through my mind." She told him.

Damon stared at her, completely amazed. "Remind me never to second guess you, ever."

"We need to get back to our bodies. I think that I should be able to send us both back." Elena said.

"You need to regain your strength first." He insisted.

"I'm fine…" Elena started, her knees giving out mid sentence.

Damon caught her and gave her a look that clearly meant no. As much as she wanted to fight him on it, she knew that he was right. Elena had just lost a lot of blood, and she needed to make sure that she was strong enough to send the both of them back without her mind shattering.

The scene suddenly shifted, and they found themselves in what appeared to be a medieval castle. The room was made out of dark grey stone, and the walls were lined with beautiful tapestries woven out of golden thread. In the center of the room sat Katherine, on an ornate throne.

"So she lives to see another pathetic day of her life. _Wonderful." _Katherine said, sarcastically.

"What do you want from us, Katherine?" Damon asked.

"_We've been over this, Damon. _I want to make your life a literal living hell for all eternity." She smirked.

"Well, if you want to make my life even more of a hell, let Elena go." He told her.

"What? Damon, no…" Elena cried.

Katherine thought over the offer as she checked her perfectly manicured nails.

"If you let her go, I'll happily be tortured. Hell, I'll torture myself without you even telling me to. Come on, this is an offer you can't refuse." Damon laughed.

"Well, I have been getting bored of her and whiny personality already. So, I'll take your offer, Damon. _She goes, but you stay."_

* * *

**I was thoroughly impressed by how quickly you guys reviewed the last chapter! Thanks for all of the positive reviews!**


	7. Chapter 7

"She goes, but you stay."

Katherine's words echoed in Elena's ears. What was Damon thinking? She couldn't leave without him…

"Well, go ahead-say your little goodbyes. But, I'll be back to make sure you go through with your end of the deal." Fire glinted in Katherine's eyes when she spoke.

The castle disappeared around Damon and Elena, and they were left alone in a completely white landscape that seemed never ending. It reminded Elena of the rooms in hospitals where people were placed when they were on suicide watch.

"So, what's the plan?" She asked him.

"Elena, you have to get out of here." Damon told her.

"I'm not leaving without you!" She cried.

His hands cupped the sides of her face, and he looked deeply into her eyes.

"Elena, you don't belong here. You're good, and I'm a vampire…"

She cut him off. "I don't believe that for a second, Damon. The only way that you can make me leave Hell is if you come with me."

"Elena…" He started.

She stepped forward, and crushed her lips against his. He deepened the kiss, and the two of them shared their own little piece of heaven in the depths of Hell.

He pulled away and smiled. "Okay, you win."

"So, what's the plan?" She repeated.

Damon took her hand in his and rubbed circles in comfort. "Well, do you feel strong enough to get the both of us the hell out of here?"

"Yeah...I think so." Elena said.

"I admire the confidence." He laughed.

She took his other hand in hers and focused her mind. Elena pictured her physical body in the basement of Bree's bar, and she imagined her soul returning to it. As she squeezed Damon's hand, Elena imagined him returning to his physical body as well.

The bright light surrounded the two of them, and her head started to pound from the built up pressure. She could do this. She had to.

"What do we have here?" Katherine snarled.

Her face transformed, almost as if she had finally shed her disguise. Her skin was a dark red, horns protruded from her hairline, and her black eyes erupted with flames. Katherine's perfectly manicured nails were sharp claws, and her teeth were bared, showing off a set of sharp fangs.

Katherine lunged forward, but it was too late. Damon and Elena had been swept up into the light. She growled in fury.

* * *

Elena's eyes snapped open, and she pinched herself, making sure that she was really back in her body.

"Oh, God. Damon."

She leapt up in a panic, only to find herself face down on the floor. Her knees had given out-sending them back must've taken all of her strength.

Elena started to crawl forward, determined to make it to Damon-who was still in an alleyway a few blocks away.

"Oh honey, it's gonna take you all night at this rate."

She looked up to see Bree smiling down at her. She held her hand out, and Elena took it, her knees wobbling a bit as she managed to stand back up.

"Damon, I have to get to him. He should be back in his body…" She breathed out.

"Okay, well I want you to stay here and rest. I'll go find him." Bree told her.

"But…"

Bree murmured something under her breath. It sounded like Latin.

"You'll be stuck in here for a few hours. I'll find him, Elena." She said.

"Okay, thanks." Elena sighed.

Maybe some rest wouldn't kill her. The hard part was over-Damon was back. She curled up on the sofa and fell into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

Damon felt a light pressure on his hand. Elena. She had kissed him. She was going to get them both out of Hell. His body became weightless in the shower of bright light...

Then nothing.

The pressure moved to his cheek. Ow.

Someone had slapped him. His bright blue eyes snapped open.

"Bree?" Damon asked.

The witch stood over him smiling as she offered him her hand. He took it and stood up, feeling the ache in his muscles from his physical body not being used for days.

Damon touched his bloody chest, finding it whole and unblemished. His vampiric nature must have healed him after his soul rejoined his body.

"Where's Elena?" He asked the witch.

"She's safe. Just magically stuck in my basement. She's very worn out." Bree told him.

Damon sighed in relief. He didn't think he could live with himself if something happened to her. Not only because she had saved him, but...Damon found himself caring for the girl in ways he didn't think were possible for himself. Yeah, he had dated Katherine on and off for the past century and a half, but...he had never felt even a fraction of what he felt for Elena.

Bree took Damon back to her bar's secret basement, and he felt a wave of emotion overtake him when he saw Elena fast asleep on the sofa. She looked so peaceful in her sleep-the stress of the past few days disappeared from her soft features.

"She'll be stuck here for a few more hours, and then the two of you can leave. You are always welcome back here, Damon. Stay safe." Bree told him before ascending the staircase.

Damon brushed a stray piece of hair and tucked it behind her ear. Elena's eyelids fluttered from the touch, and she slowly opened her eyes.

"Damon?" She asked, groggily.

"I'm here, Elena." He whispered.

He brushed away a stray tear that trailed down her cheek as she stared at him in amazement. Before he could react, Elena closed the distance between them and crushed her lips to his.

Damon responded, deepening the kiss with a shared intensity. Her hands found themselves in his hair, lightly tugging him closer to her.

Elena then leapt onto Damon from the couch, practically tackling him onto the ground. He laughed as she mouthed oops, and his hands massaged her hips. She caught him in a searing kiss and began grinding herself on his growing length.

"Wait." Damon breathed out.

"What's wrong?" She asked, feeling rejected.

"As much as I want to do this right now, I don't think Bree would appreciate us having sex in her basement." He said.

"Ugh, I hate that you're right." She said as she got off of his lap.

Elena sat against the couch with her knees tucked into her body. She sighed as she ran a hand through her hair.

"So, what now?" She asked him.

"Well, now that we have the whole dying thing out of the way, what do you want to do? We could get out of Richmond-I could take you around the entire world if you wanted." Damon told her.

Her whole face lit up at his words. "I would like that, Damon. It's just that…"

"It's just that what, Elena?"

She thought about Stefan and how he was waiting for her in their shared home. She then thought about Bonnie and her job at Mrs. Jones' bookstore.

She smiled, "It's just that I'll have to take care of a few things at home first, but after that...I'm all yours, Damon."

A crooked smile appeared on Damon's lips. He leaned forward and captured Elena's lips in a soft kiss.

* * *

Katherine was angry. Beyond angry. She didn't think there was a word in the English language to describe how she felt right now.

Damon and that stupid little girl escaped Hell. How could she be so stupid to leave them unattended for one minute?

She twirled a curl around her finger as she thought to herself on her golden throne. Her lips then twisted into a smirk.

She was just going to have to pay them a visit upstairs.

* * *

**Sorry, for this chapter being a few weeks late. I don't know why, but whenever I'm staying at my house with my family, I don't have the inspiration to write. It's been a crazy few weeks-my classes are online for the rest of the semester and my state is officially on lock down starting tonight. I hope everyone is staying safe!**


	8. Chapter 8

As soon as the spell wore off, Damon and Elena headed back to their hotel room. Deja vu hit Elena as she remembered what happened the last time they were walking back to the hotel..._Damon had been killed. _She shook off the bad memory from her mind and took his hand in hers. A similar expression was painted on his features, and he squeezed her hand in comfort.

Damon broke their silence. "So, where would you like to go first?"

Elena thought for a moment. "I don't even know where to start. Besides visiting my dad in California, I've never really gotten out of Virginia."

"Well, I was thinking that we could start in Europe. London, Paris, Rome-all of it." He told her.

Elena listened to Damon as he told her stories of all of his travels throughout the past century and a half. Never in a million years would she have thought that her life would be like this-_traveling the world with a vampire? This kind of stuff just doesn't happen. But she was glad that it did._

They made it back to their hotel room, and the two of them got themselves ready to turn themselves in for the night. This time, Elena immediately snuggled her body close to Damon and let her head rest on his bare chest. He wrapped his arm around her, and Elena sighed in contentment. Her eyelids drifted shut…

_A breeze swept through her long, mahogany strands as she walked hand in hand with Damon down the cobblestone streets of Richmond. He swung their arms back and forth as they walked, eliciting a laugh from Elena. _

"_What do you want to eat?" She asked._

"_You." _

_Elena looked at him confused. Dark veins swam underneath Damon's nearly black irises. She could see a set of sharp fangs behind his twisted smirk. Katherine appeared at his side, putting her dark red lips close to his ear._

"_Go ahead, Damon. Have a taste." She murmured._

_In a flash, his fangs were at her throat, and Elena screamed in terror._

Elena woke up with a start. In the dark room, she could make out a figure before her-standing at the foot of their shared bed. Elena's heart started frantically beating as the dark figure came closer, and all she could see were the flames that danced around in their eyes-_Katherine. _

She blinked, and the figure was gone. Elena curled her body deeper into Damon's side and tried to steady her breathing with his. He lazily opened his eyes and blinked.

"Something wrong?" Damon asked groggily.

Elena hesitated before answering. "Are you worried that...Katherine could come here?"

He sat up, all signs of weariness gone. "Well, I don't think she is very happy with the stunt we pulled but...I'm not going to let her hurt you, Elena."

"Okay," she mumbled.

Damon pulled her into his chest and stroked her hair. _Was Katherine going to hunt them down? He wasn't sure...but, he was sure that they needed to get the hell out of Richmond._

* * *

The next morning, they packed up their few belongings and prepared to travel to Mystic Falls. Elena needed to end things with Stefan-a fact that she never told Damon-and she needed to leave her job at the bookstore. As much as it was going to hurt Elena to leave her job and all of the memories of her mother, she was slightly relieved that she wouldn't be reminded of the torture that Katherine put her through. The bad memory of her fake mother attacking her in the bookstore did tarnish the place a little bit in Elena's mind.

The plan was that they were going to take two separate cars to Mystic Falls. Elena still had her car in Richmond, and she was going to leave it at her house. Then, she was going to take off with Damon and travel the world.

Elena got in her car and turned the key into the ignition. She checked her mirrors and prepared to back out of her parking spot.

"So, where are we going?" A feminine voice asked.

Elena looked over at the passenger seat and froze in shock. Katherine had materialized out of thin air and was now staring at her with a grin on her dark red lips.

"That was a rhetorical question. _You're not going anywhere." _Katherine smirked.

"How did you get in here?" Elena shakily asked.

"Too easily. You really need to lock your car doors." She laughed.

Katherine put her feet on the dashboard and crossed her legs. She then checked her nails for a minute before staring at Elena expectantly.

"So, here's the part where you ask me about my diabolical plan?" Katherine said.

"What's your plan?" Elena asked.

She tried to hide her shaking hands by fiddling with her nails, but Elena was sure that the devil noticed.

"I'm glad you asked. I'm mad that you helped Damon escape Hell, so I'm going to put him through hell on Earth." She told Elena.

"How are you planning on doing that?" Elena asked.

"Well, for starters, I have to get rid of _you_. You see, what Damon cares about the most right now is you, so you have to go first. Nothing personal, but...nah scratch that, I don't particularly like you in the slightest." Katherine said.

"If you kill me, Damon isn't going to go down without a fight." Elena reasoned.

"Who said anything about killing you, silly? My plan for you is _much worse. _You're going to tear his heart into shreds."

Elena felt a surge of boldness. There was no way in hell that she was going to break Damon's heart. She would rather die.

"How are you so sure that I'm going to go along with your little plan?" Elena remarked.

"_Because you don't have a choice. _I know about your little boyfriend, your friend Bonnie, and her grandmother. With a snap of my fingers, I can send them all to Hell to spend an eternity with _me_. But, if you do what I say...I might reconsider." Katherine told her.

_What was she going to do? Elena couldn't just let them die because of her infatuation with a vampire. But on the other hand, she couldn't hurt Damon like that...she just couldn't._

"What do you want me to do?" Elena sighed.

Katherine's lips twisted into a smile.


	9. Chapter 9

Elena fought back stinging tears as she remembered the instructions that Katherine had given her.

_Call him._

Elena picked up her cell phone and scrolled through the names until she landed on his. She shakily pressed the call button and held the phone to her ear-the dialing sound matching the pounding of her heart.

"Elena?" Damon asked.

_Tell him that you can't do this anymore, that this was a mistake. You're going home to your boyfriend, and you don't want him to follow._

"Damon, I can't do this. I can't travel the world with you. I belong with my boyfriend, Stefan, back in Mystic Falls. This whole thing was a big mistake." She said.

"Elena, I don't understand-you have a boyfriend? When were you going to tell me this?" He asked.

_Tell Damon that you love Stefan._

"I'm sorry, Damon." She told him. "But I love _him_. I should've never let things go so far between us."

"Elena, let's talk about this. Something isn't right here."

_Tell him to let you go._

Tears ran down her cheeks, and she tried to hide the tremor in her voice. It was about to be the nail in the coffin.

"Damon, I-I need you to let me go." Elena said.

"Goodbye, Elena."

The call ended, and she felt herself go into hysterics. It felt like she couldn't breathe-the entire ocean had evaporated, and Elena was a fish left gasping for air.

Katherine materialized in the passenger seat again, a sadistic grin on her lips.

"I'm impressed-I didn't think you would be able to sell it so well. If you weren't so average looking, I would tell you to become an actress." She said.

"I did what you wanted, why are you here?" Elena asked.

An apologetic expression appeared on Katherine's perfect face, but she knew it was fake like the rest of her.

"There's just a tiny problem here, Gilbert." Katherine pinched her manicured fingers together so close that they were almost touching. "I need an insurance policy that you aren't going to turn around and help Damon, so…"

Elena felt the dagger plunge in her stomach. She stared at Katherine in shock who mouthed _sorry _before disappearing into thin air.

Blood poured out of the wound, and Elena weakly tried to stop the bleeding with her hands. Her mind felt numb as she tried to think of ways to help herself.

Her blood stained hand pawed around for her phone, and she feebly tried to open her lock screen. The screen fell onto recent calls, and she blindly pressed one.

She heard the faint dial, and her vision turned black.

* * *

Damon shook his head after he got off the phone with Elena. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something wrong with her. His vampiric hearing could detect the slightest quiver in her clear voice, and it didn't sit well with Damon. _Screw letting her go, he needed to make sure she was okay first._

In the phone call, he could tell her car was off since he couldn't hear the buzz of the engine. So, Damon made an illegal u-turn and headed back to where she told him that his car was parked.

As Damon drove, he felt the familiar buzz in his pocket. He dug out his phone and was surprised to see Elena as the caller ID. _Maybe she had an explanation for all of this._

"Elena?" He asked.

There was no response.

"Elena?"

Damon listened harder and could barely pick up the labored breathing on the other end. A chill ran up his spine. _Something was terribly wrong._

His foot hit the gas, and Damon sped back into downtown Richmond. He frantically searched for a car that resembled hers to no avail.

"Damon…"

His heart sped up. "Elena? Elena, tell me where you are."

He heard heavy coughing on the other end. "C-Car."

"Where is your car, Elena?"

"D-Deli…"

Damon saw a clear image of the deli she was referring to in his mind. He was only a few blocks away. He drove like a madman and turned onto the street that she was on.

That's when Damon could smell the blood. And there was _a lot _of it. He felt his fangs descend.

"Damon, h-hurry…"

Damon felt the monster inside of him recede as he heard the girl's broken voice. He wildly parked in the first spot he saw and followed the rich scent of her blood.

His eyes widened as he opened her passenger side door. Elena laid in the driver's seat limp with a dagger plunged in her midsection. Blood gruesomely covered every surface of her car.

She squinted her brown eyes at the light pouring in from the opened door. "Damon?"

"I'm here, Elena...it's going to be alright." He told her. "I need to pull out the dagger first."

He took her hand, and Elena squeezed it in a death grip. She cried out in pain as he pulled it out.

In a flash, his fangs tore through his wrist, and he pressed the wound to her lips. She choked down his blood, and he sighed in relief as he watched her wound heal.

"What happened?" He asked her.

"_Katherine."_

"Katherine did this?"

Her eyes widened as she stared past him.

"Am I too late to the party?" A feminine voice asked behind Damon.

He turned, and Damon stared at the devil herself.

"I'll admit, I didn't think you would call him back. I guess I'll have to remember that for next time." She said.

"Katherine...what sick game are you playing here?" Damon asked.

"Elena can fill you in on all of the dirty little details, but…" Her finger trailed down his chest, "I think you two have some stuff to work out first."

Katherine disappeared, and Damon sat down in the passenger seat. He ran a hand through his raven hair.

Elena pounced on him and pressed her tear stained face into his chest. He hugged her body tight to his.

"I'm...so..s-s-sorry."

"Hey, it's okay...Katherine made you say those things." He said.

She looked up at him with tears welling up in her doe eyes. "I do have a boyfriend named Stefan, but that's why I wanted to go home-to end things with him. The truth is..._I love you, Damon." _

Damon's eyes softened at her confession. His hand caressed her cheek, and he gently pressed his lips to hers. Elena softly returned the kiss, and a stray tear trailed down her cheek.

He broke the kiss and brushed away the tear. "I love you, Elena, if it wasn't obvious."

A smile stretched on her lips, but then it turned into a frown. "What are we going to do about Katherine?"

He met her eyes. "There's only one thing we can do-_kill her."_


End file.
